Twitter: Why are so many celebrities so careless with their tweets?

Not sure if it's de rigeur to copy from my original blog post here, but the answer seemed too relevant to miss... (Original version = http://blog.famebook.com/famebook/2009/03/twitter-breaks-down-the-wall-between-star-and-fans-what-a-nightmare.html) Twitter Breaks Down the Wall Between Star and Fans - What a nightmare? Response to original article in the fabulous 'The Wrap' - @ http://www.thewrap.com/article/2084 ...I wish I could remember which movie it was where the insects all buzz towards the UV light saying 'it's so beautiful'....(***Just Amended - Thanks Shane via Techcrunch - Bug's Life! - SEE CLIP! = Celebrities heading out to Twitter and Facebook - in my opinion! = http://tinyurl.com/c6z6au) That's my own personal take on these once hugely bankable Hollywood brands whose rather asinine online antics are, with every tweet or poorly presented profile, increasingly making them look like just another girl or guy next door. I predict a story arising in the not too distant future where a studio dumps on an 'A' list act, citing the fact that their unadulterated social networking antics have blown their credibility and they no longer carry sufficient gravitas for a multi-million dollar movie.....failing that who will be surprised really when a movie bombs, because the leading lady who is going to save the world from nuclear disaster is everyone's best mate on Twitter and just doesn't cut it as a red carpet icon anymore.. Beware also the Good Will Hunting backlash when those new friends turn on you and say "with all those gifts, it's an insult to us to be hanging in the neighbourhood. You're either guilty of trying to manipulate/ sell to us or at best destroying all those memories of great sporting moments or iconic movie/ music moments we hold in such high esteem, by taking that privilege for granted by trying to look ordinary". Success reinforces hope and none more so than a leading movie star etc. Do we really want to see you and your movie star husband rubbing our noses in your apparent contempt for the pedestal we gladly, as paying audiences, invested in providing over so many years? Maybe I am Legend....and alone on this.....maybe not... but this whole thing could be a virus which was meant as a cure for our communication....and unchecked could wipe out all the things we value most. Paul Newman will always be Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy or Henry Gondorff to me and thankfully at least still a Hollywood great. I wonder how many of my young son's future Hollywood great's will not have, themselves ruined the value of that regard, by succumbing to the light and still be around for him to put on a pedestal?....not too many at this rate...how sad! - all roads lead to Famebook of course ;-) Jan

I think you've chosen two poor examples, since both of these "celebrities" are quite well known for their insensitive remarks - 50 Cent has a clear history of putting his foot in his mouth (though perhaps not nearly as badly as Kanye), and Gilbert Gottfried is a comedian whose entire repertoire is based on sarcastic, insensitive, annoying commentary.  Quite frankly, they probably think that there's no such thing as bad press...and they might be right.

I agree with that celebrities tweet as if it is there safe arena of throwing a casual comment. However i think using social media properly is a thing which needs to be understood by everyone, celebrities primarily! A controversial tweet from an individual may just go unnoticed but with celebs it never can. Sometimes as many refer that controversial comments in social media are another medium for publicity. The other reason is that even celebs need a 'vent out zone'. In their interviews they often pour in their lament that when the world has a chance to speak out, why not they? They are celebs, yet they are humans who some individual choices too. To tweet what they like or to post updates what they feel is one of them. Social media is a place to vent out(positive and negative). What the world takes and applies is a individual choice.

Whether they are doing it for shock value, or under the guise of a clever marketing campaign - we may never really know the real intention.  Two days ago, I was reading this article from Inc online about the way top stars think and they are in constant need of attention ( and extra sensitive to rejection ) -  I think a lot of celebrities will dispute this matter, but having read news on these tweet blunders that they make have me believe that statement made by this expert in psychiatry from the Harvard Medical .  Just like endorsing products through traditional means and mainstream media, these celebrities are also paid when they endorse brand A-Z in their Twitter feeds.  Perhaps, it can work when it comes to spreading the brand awareness fast to millions of people, but in the long run, these brands can simply utilize their own hashtags to promote themselves.  Charlie Sheen's bad boy antic may not be something new, but it's still undeniable that he's a Guinness World record holder for the fastest person to reach a million followers in a week's time.  Then, stars like Lady Gaga who's promoting this band she designed to help Japan's quake victims spread like wild fire as well.  My point is that these celebrities may or may not intend to be careless about their tweets; they simply forgot to choose the right words to go with it.

I think the question is fair, but it should be targeted to all of us who use social media to comment. We do not have to be celebrities; although the celebrities are the ones who are likely to have more followers. Twitter and Facebook make it easy for us to post something that reaches out to thousands of people around the world. If we are careless with our words, our inability to engage our filters can (and should) come back to haunt us. As my little mom always says, "When in doubt, don't."